E-cigarettes help smokers quit: study

this study published online in the Journal Addiction (available for free here http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.12623/pdf) showed that users of e-cigarettes 464/5863 smokers who made a quit attempt reported more abstinence than users of medical NRT1922/5863 or no aid 3477/5863 in helping them quit smoking. Adjusted odds ratios 1.63 (95% confidence interval 1.17 to 2.27) ecig vs NRT. These are intriguing findings. It speaks to the divide in what smokers want to help them quit and what we as scientists and health care providers think they need to quit successfully. This study has limitations: it is self report but this unique study in the UK complements randomized controlled trials to evaluate real world effectiveness of smoking cessation products. OTC NRT without professional help is marginally beneficial if at all. So the fact that the e-cig seemed to work deserves our attention. Clearly regulations are required to make sure it is safe and not sold to kids and doesnt get people to relapse back to combustible cigarettes.Also, these e-cigs contain nicotine legally. In Canada, ecigarettes with nicotine are illegal.